Was Paula Deen's E! True Hollywood Story Nothing But Propaganda?

Tuesday

Oct 15, 2013 at 6:25 PM

It seems as thoughPaula Deen'sE! True Hollywood Storymight not be so "true" after all. According toGawker, the documentary is nothing but "revisionist propaganda."The website reports that while the one-hour episode, which airedMonday, did touch upon Deen's recent racism scandal, it ...

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It seems as though Paula Deen's E! True Hollywood Story might not be so "true" after all. According to Gawker, the documentary is nothing but "revisionist propaganda."

The website reports that while the one-hour episode, which aired Monday, did touch upon Deen's recent racism scandal, it appeared to frame Deen as a victim of circumstance, and conveniently ignored her wish to get black waiters to play the role of slaves at a plantation-themed wedding party and the two disastrous apology videos she posted after canceling her first Todayshow appearance in June.

A timeline of Paula Deen's downfall

Attorney Jonna Spilbor went so far as to defend Deen's admission of using racial slurs as the result of the chef simply wanting to be honest. "She grew up before the 'I have a dream' speech, in the deep South. Has she ever in her entire life used the N-word? Probably a safe bet that she has," Spilbor said, adding a better response would have been "I don't recall."

As to her use of the racial slur after being robbed by a black man, Rev. Dr. Leonard Small, a black man, explained, "I said, 'Wait a minute. Twenty or 30 years ago?' I came out of the old South. I know how this goes. That would not make this a racist statement. That might make this racially insensitive at the time, but that does not make Paula Deen a racist."

The show also included Jimmy Carter, Gordon Elliott and Anthony Bourdain, who has feuded with Deen multiple times, speaking out in support of the chef. Elliott explained Deen's bizarre rescheduled Today appearance, during which she said she didn't know if the N-word is offensive, as the result of her being traumatized because "no one was giving her a break."

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"This woman has endured and conquered more adversity than most people have ever imagined possible and my money's always on Paula," Elliott said.

Do you think Deen's E! True Hollywood Story was an accurate reflection or propaganda?

View original Was Paula Deen's E! True Hollywood Story Nothing But Propaganda? at TVGuide.com